Wall panel



Feb. 3, 1942. J. v. NlELsEN y ,2,271,924

y WALL PANEL Filed Feb'. 9, 1958 2 sheets-sheet 1 f N s@ J. V. NIELSEN Feb. 3, 1942.

wALL PANEL Filed Feb. 9, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i )NIMH Patented F eb. 3, 1942 UNITED] STATI;

` WALL PANEL MJohny Nielsen, Chicago, Ill., tassignor' to Universal Equipment Company,` Chica-go",y Ill., a corporation ofl Illinois Application February 9, 1938,v serial No. 189,617

y 4 Claims. v This invention relates to wall and other panels and supporting means therefor.

It is an object of my invention to provide a decorative or other panel of substantial area yet suitably supportedagainst warping or buckling.

It is another object to provide wall panels in a few shapes adapted to be combined to form a large variety of composite shapes or patterns.

It is a further object to provide Wall panels with borders which at once reinforce the panels and constitute means for mounting the panels in place.

Another object is to provide a panel supporting construction adapted to securely mount one or more panels with the faces of the latterflush with the adjacent surfacing of the support.

vA further object is to provide a wall panel mounting enabling one or morepanels to be eX- peditiously and securely mounted.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a quickly attachable wall panel construction of any suitable outline adapted to afford a background for the attachment of posters, letters, emblems and other desiredadvertising matter.

Another object is to provide a wall panel structureI adapted to bear striping for ornamental purposes and to match the baseboard of adjacent portions of the wall proper so as not to show mop discolorations.

It is a still further object to so lmount adjacent panels as to prevent swayingof the panels without detracting from their4 appearance.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description proceeds. lThe invention will be understood upon reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 .is a fragmentary front elevation of wall vpaneling and supporting meansinvolving the in- Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated by the line 5-5 in Fig.' 3.

Figs'. 6, 7 and 8 are elevations of different wall patterns obtainable by using' a few basic pane shapes. f

Referring now more particularly to the drawconstructed-in 4accordance with the principles of my invention. This panel comprises a sheet of any suitable stiff material such Las sheet steel or other metal. of suitable thickness. The sheet preferably is shaped to provide a substantial area I8 which may be flat as shown or of spherical -or other desired curved or other non-'planar shape. In order to preclude warping or buckling, I spot weld' or otherwise suitably secure the-flanges k20 o f` reinforcing bracesl 2I tol the back side 22 of the display section I8. The .bars illustrated are channels, but it will be appreciated that angles or othershapes may be employed to like advantage.

, Marginal reinforcement of the sheet is effected by bendingffl'angesd backward and then forward into U shape so as to provide a body portion 25 connected to the section I8 and a free body portion 26 spaced inwardly from thev portion 25 and resiliently joined thereto at the head or bightk 2l.

'I'helpanelsection I8 is adapted for display purposes, andaccordingly may be plated, enameled or otherwise surfaced and suitably ornamented by striping or otherwise.

The panel may be mounted on any suitable support, the wall 36 here shown being employed forfillustrative purposes only. Attaching or anchoring clips 3l, preferably of metal, are secured by any suitable' means '31a in the wall structure 3|).l Each clip maybe formed in the shape of a T or fotherwise, from.Y either a single piece of material or a pairof angle bars 32, for example, welded or otherwise suitably joined to provide a web 33V and flanges 341 A spring retainer strip 35 may have a flange 36 welded or otherwise suit.. ably secured to each flange 34, and has a spring portion 3,1 vextending in spaced relation to the web and terminatingin a curl 38. The portion r3'I is resiliently flexible relative to the flange the bight or head` 21 so that the latter 'may be shoved in we'dgingly in such manner as to`force the portion 3l to yield, the head 2l being snapped past the throat 46 and into the space or chamber 4I beyond the throat. The free body portion 26 of the panel flange is resiliently flexible about the head 2l, and the spring part 3l is relatively stiff, so that when the head passes into ings, I have illustrated at I5 a form of panel 55 the space 4I the curl 38 springs back toward its normal position and in so doing forces the free portion 26 toward the portion 25.

The clip 3| may be coextensive with the anges of the panels or only partly so, and a single clip or a plurality of clips may accommodate each flange. The spring strips 35 may be coextensive with the clip or a plurality of spaced strips may be mounted at each side of the web 33.

When the bight or head 21 is fully inserted, it preferably engages a flange 34 of the T clip, and the parts are preferably so dimensioned that the curl 38 at the same time engages the flange short of the inner side of the panel section I8. Now the panel flange is resiliently dove-tailed and therefore interlocked with the retainer clip against accidental displacement, and the panel is firmly held against rattling.

The border of the adjacent panel likewise cooperates with the retainer clip at the other side thereof so that the clip holds the adjacent margins of contiguous panels, the web 33 projecting between said margins and preferably terminating in an edge 44 substantially flush with the display surfaces 45 of the panels. The clips `are preferably mounted to project forwardly from the supporting wall, as shown in Fig. 2, or may be free of any wall and be suspended, or supported on a stand. Or, if desired, the clips may be mounted in a recess in a supporting wall, and may have their outer edges ush with the outer surface of the wall, as shown, or project outward or set inward from said surface. IIhe edges 44 of the Webs 33 are preferably relatively narrow so as to be inconspicuous when the panels are attached. Only one side of the clip 3| is of course used at the free edge of the composite panel design or pattern. The webs 33 are preferably rigid so as to keep the panels from swaying.

It will be observed that in mounting a panel it is necessary merely to arrange its flanges in front of the entrances 4I and then shove the panel backward until its flanges are snapped in place. Thus the mounting is effected expeditiously.

Certain selected basic panel shapes are shown vat 5I, 52, 53 and 54 merely for the purpose of illustrating how, with a few shapes, a variety of composite area designs may be obtained. Although only three such designs have been illustrated, it is apparent even to an unskilled person how the panels of the shapes noted may be combined in Various arrangements, employing as many of each as may be desired, to suit the fancy. Obviously other basic panel shapes will afford other varieties of composite shapes. One of many applications of the invention is in automobile i-llling stations, to provide attractive backgrounds upon which to post charts, posters and the like.

It is evident from the foregoing that I have provided a highly efcient, attractive and durable panel and inconspicuous supporting means therefor of extreme simplicity and economy of construction.

I am aware that reversals of parts may be `a member t0 be. connected, said flange forming resorted to, and that numerous changes may be made and details of construction varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of my invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the prior art.

I claim:

1. A structural wall panel member having an attaching portion comprising a relatively stiff head and a resiliently collapsible and expansible body connected to said head and adapted, when collapsed, to be of smaller lateral extent than said head, and a supporting member having an attaching portion adapted to receive and retain said head, said attaching portion comprising resilient means and normally forming a space preventing passage of said head but adapted to ybe enlarged as said head is forced in and resiliently flexes said means, said means being stiffer vthan said body and being operative, after said head has traveled through said space, to compress saidV body and thereby obstruct withdrawal of said head.

2. A vwall construction comprising a support, panel-supporting bars connected to said support, each bar comprising a flange and a web projecting voutwardly from said flange, and a panel having anchoring members projecting from a side of said panel, said bars having means securing said members in engagement with said webs and in substantially anti-rattling abutting relation to said anges, said bars `constituting the sole attaching means for said panel.

3.A A structural wall panel member having an attaching portion comprising a relatively stiff head and a resiliently collapsible and expansible body connected Yto and` at least as wide as said head and,adapted,`vvhen collapsed, to converge lfrom said head, anda supporting member having an attaching portion adapted to receive and retain said head, said attaching portion comprising resilient means and normally forming a space preventingpassage of said head but adapt- "ing a flange and a web, and a spring mounted on said flange and extending adjacent said web and providing with said web a spring socket for the inner extremity of said socket to abuttingly receive said member, said web extending outwardly beyond said spring in a direction transverse to said ange to guide said member into .said socket in a direction transverse to and toward said flange, the l entire web .portion so ex- -tending lying ,in substantially the same plane 

